Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to processing multimedia data for use on mobile devices and more particularly to methods, systems, and computer program products that seamlessly transcode between different types of multimedia data as used on various mobile device platforms.
Description of the Related Art
Mobile devices with multimedia data capabilities have created an explosion in the creation and playback of sound, images and video. High-resolution cameras and sound recorders on these mobile devices have enabled people to capture high quality images and videos of personal events, news events and other events as they occur. For example, mobile phones are often used to take videos and pictures as they are compact and with a person wherever they may go. Because storage capacity on these mobile devices is also plentiful, there is a no limit to the amount of multimedia data people can create and store.
Sharing multimedia data with others is also rapidly growing in popularity as mobile devices incorporate increasingly high-speed data connections and powerful processors. With sophisticated editing software on the mobile device, users can quickly compile a variety of multimedia data into presentations suitable for friends or business. And almost instantly, the user may send their multimedia presentations directly to other mobile phones thereby promoting further sharing and the exchange of multimedia data on mobile devices. Indeed, users are sharing more multimedia data directly using their mobile devices as it is no longer necessary to download data from mobile devices onto a computer and then share via email or photo sharing sites.
Despite these advances, a great deal of multimedia data remains incompatible between different mobile device platforms due to incompatible formats or other variations. In the case of smartphones and other mobile phone devices, the multimedia data formats supported on each device are often limited by the phone manufacturers specifications and design choices. Consequently, if a mobile phone device receives a video, images, audio or other multimedia data in an unsupported format, the device will not be able to decode and play it back to the user. In some cases, the mobile phone device may not even allow storing data in an unsupported data format as the multimedia data may be flagged as a potential virus or other unwelcome data-risk.
Changing the multimedia encoders or decoders on the mobile device after manufacturer can be complex and difficult to do. The mobile device manufacturer expects the user to be satisfied with the multimedia encoders or decoders provided with the mobile device and generally does not encourage changing or adding to them. Even if additional encoders or decoders are available, many users may not wish to install them if they are not supported by the manufacturer or the installation process has many complicated steps and risks damaging firmware or other portions mobile device.